Maintain your bike, it will make you happy

I am probably as far from a bike mechanic as you can imagine. But with the help of a friend who has a knack for fixing everything, I replaced the groupset on one a favorite bike. My old Surly Straggler definitely deserved the love.

The bike is much better after the upgrade, but it also feels nice to ride a bike that you have helped put together yourself. You take pride in how everything works.

I found this love letter to bicycle repair via Dense Discovery. I can relate to this:

Eventually, I finished the project. It didn’t go smoothly at all. On more than one occasion I realized I was missing some vital tool, or some tiny part that I hadn’t even known existed until I suddenly needed it–like cable ferrules, or a star nut–and without which the whole project ground to a halt. Nevertheless, the bike progressed, then finally it was done, and from that moment on I knew I was hooked.

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